Relish

Written by James Graham, based on the book by Ruth Cowen and directed by Paul Roseby.

3rd – 18th September - Tramshed, Shoreditch for more details and to book tickets go to: www.nyt.org.uk/relish

Over 100 years before Nigella and Jamie set the nation’s pulse racing, Victorian chef Alexis Soyer was one of the most famous men in Britain. Relish, by James Graham (Tory Boyz, The Whisky Taster), will tell the story of Soyer’s rise from the backstreets of Paris to the salons of the British elite. With a cast of characters including a foul-mouthed Florence Nightingale and chefs cooking live onstage, Relish will prove that celebrity chefs are nothing new.

Relish will be performed by 60 NYT members, and directed by Paul Roseby, Artistic Director of NYT, with music from the award winning composer and musician Philip Sheppard. The show will be performed in a found space in Shoreditch, a short walk from the site of one of Alexis Soyer’s original soup kitchens for the poor.

Not content with running one of the most prestigious kitchens in Europe at London’s Reform Club, Alexis Soyer found time to open soup kitchens in Shoreditch and feed the starving during the Irish famine. He also invented a portable stove for the British Army, which revolutionised military catering, and played a significant role in the British victory in the Crimean War.

James Graham’s previous plays include The Whiskey Taster (Bush), Tory Boyz (NYT/Soho Theatre), A History of Falling Things (Theatre Clywd), Sons of York (Finborough Theatre) and Eden’s Empire (Finborough Theatre; winner, Catherine Johnson Award for Best Play 2007). He is Writer in Residence at the Finborough Theatre and a member of the Royal Court/BBC 50 scheme. His first film for television, Caught in a Trap, was broadcast in 2008 and he was picked as one of the Broadcast Magazine Hotshots in the same year.